Lemon Bay High School Theater presents ‘Into the Woods’
The musical theatre community mourned en masse when the iconic Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim passed away at the age of 91 on November 26, 2021. Broadway luminaries, such as Lin Manuel Miranda, Bernadette Peters, Sarah Bareilles, all gathered on the iconic red steps in New York’s Times Square to perform a moving tribute to the beloved composer.
Sondheim’s genius lives on through his work as Lemon Bay High School’s Theatre presents “Into the Woods” March 31 through April 3. Coincidentally, March 22 would have been Sondheim’s 92 birthday.
“We purchased the licensing rights for “Into the Woods” several months ago, before the composer’s passing,” explained director Sarah Ballard-Richardson. “Since his passing, we have learned more about the composer and all the amazing shows he created.”
Sondheim was famously mentored by the great Oscar Hammerstein, who just happened to be his neighbor. A 15-year-old Sondheim learned musical theater composition at his mentor’s knee.
After his success with such classics as “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” Sondheim felt obligated to mentor the next generation. Some of the lives he touched include Lin Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton,” Johnathon Larson, “Rent,” and many more. Sondheim said, “Teaching is a sacred profession. And art is a form of Teaching.”
Ballard-Richardson is carrying on this sacred profession in her work with her students. Due to the complexity of the production, many schools choose to perform act one and not act two. In Ballard-Richardson’s commitment to expose her students to the entire work, she decided to include both acts.
“It is a complex story and deserves to be told in full. The entire message of the musical is only communicated through the second act. I believe one of the central themes of the show is that just because you get everything you wish for, that won’t make you happy.”
It’s a mature message for a show featuring beloved fairytale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Rapunzel. This is not Walt Disney’s Cinderella.
Ballard-Richardson has double cast the production to make sure as many students as possible have roles. “Our production will be special. We had 44 students come out to audition, and there are only 18 roles in the show. Our production team decided to dual cast a majority of the roles. If you attend opening night and Friday night, you will see two different Bakers, Cinderellas and Jacks, to name a few. This allowed us to have the most students involved as possible.”
The production will feature plenty of onstage “magic.” “We are working on some cool technical elements, including the Witch’s transformation, flying birds, and a beanstalk that grows on stage in front of the audience’s very eyes!”
Ballard-Richardson will share this work with local schools. “We are doing a field trip where the third to fifth-graders from the local elementary schools come to see only act one (due to time constraints). I wrote a grant to pay for the buses to transport them to Lemon Bay. All students in attendance will receive a free voucher to come back and see the show in its entirety with their parents.”
Perhaps this will inspire a student or two to follow in Sondheim’s footsteps, like Lin Manuel Miranda. “His writing is the singular reason I wanted to be a musical theater actor,” said Manuel Miranda. “No one will ever come close to his genius.”
Tickets are general admission, priced as follows: Adults $20, Student’s 6th-12th grade $10, and 5th grade and under $5. Tickets are available at Lemon Bay High School Theatre.
